It’s an exciting time for us at Florida Realtor magazine. Starting with the October issue, we’ve done some fine tuning to make your magazine even better!

You told us...you don’t want us to change. We listened (for the most part!) and kept our most popular departments. We also added new departments on popular topics and tweaked the design to make it easier for you to read.

You told us...you want more legal. We listened and have a whole package of legal content every issue, including ethics case studies.

You told us...you use the magazine as a business tool. We listened and gave you shorter, easily scanable articles that you can use in sales meetings and in everyday business.

You told us...you want details and interactivity! We listened and are offering companion pieces on floridarealtors.org.

We hope you love the new magazine as much as we do. Please let us know what you think when your October issue arrives!

Help: A Four-Letter Word? I see where Florida has denied The Hartford insurance’s request for a 40 percent rate increase. So, our state insurance department is protecting us again. Wow! Let me see what the numbers say.

Hartford Insurance, with whom I had been insured for 15 years, cancelled my homeowners’ policy, and my new insurance company’s policy premium is 68 percent higher than my previous Hartford policy. And Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s premium would have been 100 percent higher.

I would gladly have paid Hartford a 40 percent increase to keep my old policy. You’ve got to love those folks in Tallahassee. They don’t seem have a clue about homeowners’ insurance, but they sure do know how to pander to voters.

David H. BrewerBrewer Sahm & Webb Inc. Bartow

Homeownership is a Privilege Since when is it OK to just walk away from your responsibilities when things don’t work out the way you wanted? Many people treated their homes like a day trade on the stock market. Now that their “gamble” isn’t working out, they seek government bailouts (not unlike their lenders and mortgage companies, at my expense as a taxpayer) or the ability to just walk off into the sunset to live a carefree life. What about all the people who were responsible, who didn’t wipe out every penny of their equity, who didn’t run out buying three and four condos, who lived within their means?

Owning a home is a privilege—one that includes responsibilities.

Carolyn BeardsleyBindman Bruzas Realty St. Petersburg

Submit letters to “Editor” via e-mail to FLRealtor@far.org, mail to P.O. Box 725025, Orlando FL 32872-5025, or fax to (407) 438-1411. Letters are edited for space and clarity. Publication of a letter does not constitute an endorsement of the writer’s views by the Florida Association of Realtors®.